A little taste of the Big Nevegal

Cross Post from the 29er forum.

I had a chance to get aquainted with the new Nevegal this weekend. I ran it on the front only. I didn't throw a caliper on it, but visually it looks only slightly thinner and less in volume than the kevlar beaded Exi that it replaced.

I kept the pressure identical to what I would normally run in the Exi - 30 psi. The terrain is quite loose and powdery in spots (we need rain badly), and there was the usual amount of rocks.

I felt boulder hits on the rim a number of times during my ride. Not rim damaging hard, but borderline. The sidewalls seemed noticeably softer and more compliant, for the same amount of air pressure. Surprisingly, I didn't notice a night and day difference in cornering over a fresh Exi. Keep in mind that I was coming off of a slighly worn Exi, so I was expecting big gains in that area. Rolling resistance on the flats and long climbs was a bit higher, but not a deal breaker. I expected that to be the case. I experienced no bead squirming off of the rim and no flats. However, the one area of performance that jumped out and was readily apparent, was the increase in braking traction. Those big knobs really worked exceptionally well when I threw out the anchor.

I'm skeptical about it's longevity. I never had much luck with Kendas in the 26" size.